Just been chatting with the guys at Aylesbury Vale Paranormal.. Was reminded of writing this, so reblogging :) ​The subject of energy attachments is so vast it would almost require it's own encyclopedia. It's probably easier to begin with what an energy can attach to, or what might retain an energy. The simple answer is anything really. When a psychic does pyschometry they are essentially reading the energy retained in an object. Usually this will be your energy, as it's an object you own and your reading. Older family heirlooms will retain several energy impressions. This is true for much larger physical objects, a house, castle, brick wall etc. This would lend credence to the paranormal phenomena of the stone tape theory. This theory suggests that an environment is able to absorb historical events and under certain conditions, or for people of a certain sensitivity, these events are then replayed.This is best recognised as the classic ghost walking through a wall (where a doorway once was) or a ghost who seems to be unaware of it's witnesses. It isn't a conscious entity, just a glimpse of a past event. Just about everybody has been somewhere where they sense a certain atmosphere, walked into a room and feel the tension where there has been an argument. Whether a centuries old paranormal apparition or a recent row between family, the energy of what we do, think and speak is retained in our surroundings, most of it will dissipate over time. This is an unconscious energy, it isn't a free thinking spirit.When thoughts, actions or words are on the unpleasant side, that is the energy that will embed. Obviously there is a whole A - Z of unpleasantness from alcohol addiction to violence, including inevitable life events such as illness and grief that can attach to a place and the objects therein. If these energies remain untreated they will become a part of the aura of a person either visiting or dwelling within them, much like getting muddy boots when walking trough a puddle. It's always a good idea to cleanse your space with something like nag champa, frankincense etc. However, you can't always be in control of the environments you visit so be sure to cleanse yourself regularly too. These types of unconscious energy attachments can build up and have a detrimental effect on your mood, thoughts, even luck to a certain degree, so the cycle continues.The fun doesn't end there though. Sensitive people can also absorb these energies from other people who carry them. You've probably heard of energy vampires, which is a bit of dramatic a name. Quite innocent, well meaning people can unwittingly dump some or most of their negative energy on you. We've all been there, you talk to someone who is not feeling best, they leave feeling great and you then feel like roadkill. You can protect to a certain degree, but nothing is 100% So you see, you are constantly in contact these energies. From my experience the more sensitive a person (a healer, medium etc) the deeper these energies can attach. For people who are unaware of their sensitivity it can be a little more problematic, spare a thought for someone who might be out of sorts, it mightn't be their fault.There is a slightly more complicated side to energy attachments. Those of conscious energies. As the names suggests these have thought and freewill. There are mediums and institutions within spiritualism that deny this as possible. My personal opinion is that they are very lucky to have not encountered this the hard way. There are several reasons why a soul would not pass over post mortem. In my work I have encountered the souls of those whose life ended with a troubled mind state, substance abuse, depression leading to suicide etc. It's seems the confusion remains in their consciousness and they remain grounded. Other people might have been unpleasant individuals and therefore not wish to go to a place that they will see is full of light and love.There are also those who, for whatever reason, believe they will be judged or punished and fear "going to the light." As a result of not passing over, these souls will not be connected to the energy source of the afterlife and will need to seek energy from elsewhere. This is where you come in! Your aura will appear as succulent and juicy as an exposed thigh appears to a leach, and yes, they will attach. So, like moths heading to the brightest light source, these energies will head to the brightest aura. You can't turn your aura down. There are practises to "close" yourself down and reducing the risk, but if you are a spiritual worker, chances are you will still be the most attractive aura. Intoxicating substances play a big part in these conscious energy attachments. They will open your protection up and allow these attachments into your aura much more easily. Like a moth flying in through an open window. These attachments will live vicariously through you, not obvious at first. For example, a moderate drinker would begin to drink a little more than usual. The attachment would enjoy the sensation, and the alcohol would strengthen it's grip, so to speak. Other signs could include mood swings, irrational behaviour, irritable feelings, increases in self gratification.A person with an attachment may also experience thoughts that would usually be alien to their own, racist or homophobic thoughts for instance. This is the conscioussness mixing with that of your own. A temporary, very short lived possession is very possible. Not quite the Hollywood representation of possession with green vomit etc, but still very problematic. The behaviour exhibited would be reflective of the behaviour of who the energy was. This could include violence, sexual deviance, verbal abuse. Not every attachment will be nasty, but it will have a detrimental effect to you. I once had an attachment of a suicide, I was working just metres away when the incident happened. I only became aware of his energy as he was trying to let me know why he did it. This was just before Christmas a few years ago. I found myself getting angered by the endless repetition of Christmas songs on TV one particular day. Now, I am not a man who enjoys Christmas anyway, so it was only when talking with medium colleagues later that evening that I recounted the story of the suicide and how I had been irritated by all the Christmas hype that I put 2 + 2 together. Obviously his problems were beyond not enjoying Christmas, but it could well have been the straw that broke the camel's back. He was helped with moving on.Oftentimes, a spirit who is grounded can be helped to pass over by whoever their nearest and dearest is on the other side. A parent or grandparent for example. The loving energy of these souls is there to welcome all of us when we cross over. With a more troubled soul it might take persuasion from a medium and the love from the other side to ensure a transition. It can be a very beautiful and moving thing to be aware of a troubled soul going towards the unconditional love of it's Grandmother. You have possibly heard mediums talk of rescue work and release work, some even using these terms and others interchangably. There is a distinct difference between rescue work, release work and cleansing etc. We will look at those in a different book, as they are not to be trifled with.Some attachments will not be of this dimension. From our Earth existence we transcend to, let's call it Heaven. Any living being that we could physically interact with would also transcend to the same Heaven. So, if we could travel to a galaxy 84billion light years away and find life, they would be of the same physical vibration as us, therefore share the same Heaven as us. What I am referring to are Other Dimensional Beings (ODBs). I do not know how many dimensions there are. A theory in physics allows for the possibility of an infinite number of dimensions. John Archibald Wheeler "Quantum Theory and Measurement" (1983) first coined the phrase, and Steven Hawking is a supporter of the multiverse hypotheses also.Some of these ODBs will be of a loving nature. Others will be of a dimension where the base emotion is negative, spite, greed etc. So, to be clear these are not the souls of our loved ones. Catholics would call them Demons, in Islam they are known as Jinn (where the word Genie comes from) although in Islam the Jinn could also be good, but not of the angelic realm. In many ways the Islamic definition of a Jinn is most akin to Other Dimensional Beings. Some of these ODBs are powerful, very powerful. They have the ability to project to this dimension and attach to us. You don't get rid of these by smudging and praying. They will kick your arse, without exception, I'm putting it mildly there too.I have had a number of experiences with such beings, but will recount only one story at this time. A number of years ago, just a few days before Halloween ironically, I was performing a tarot reading over the telephone. A mirror flew off the wall towards my direction, as you can imagine, this created quite a bit of noise that the woman I was reading for heard. I made an excuse about a shelf collapsing and brought an end to the reading. It was at this point I felt the mose intense presence I have ever encountered. I truly felt like an ant in the company of an elephant. This was not a benevolent angelic presence. The flame of a candle I had burning was about 12cm high, almost raging like you would imagine a fire to. I was under no illusion that this presence could have caused significant harm if it wanted to. But for some reason it didn't. It moved away, almost as if to say I wasn't worth wasting it's time on. It had no argument from me in that regard.

Christmas blog, Oh Christmas blog, how Christmassy is your blog? Christmas.... Eurrrgh... One of the world's finer literary giants, Charles Dickens identified that Christmas is not for everyone. He also had the good sense to pack some ghosts into a few of his works. With a style more akin to journalism, Dickens is the superior author in my opinion. As a student of history, I read a lot of Dickens, he really could paint a canvass with his wordsmithery. He would put you outside a Poorhouse, the sights, the smells etc. Then of course, it's down to student and teacher to explore the social, political and economic factors that shaped the scenes described by Dickens.

A particular ghost tour I used to run for Lantern Ghost Tours would stop at one of Dickens' old haunts (geddit?) The Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich sits right on the south bank of the Thames. Just a stone’s throw from the Cutty Sark and Royal Naval College. It was built in 1837, on the site of the Old George Inn. Mention hauntings to the current staff and see the colour drain from their faces. One in particular told me that he didn't want to talk about it, lest the activity focus on him. Looking out of the bay windows over the Thames it's easy to imagine the ferrymen plying their trade, the ships returning from far off lands. Dickens would no doubt have been inspired to write by what he saw from this very same viewpoint.

Nowhere in the world can beat London in terms of history. Not just the combined years of settlement, but the story of people therein. The history of London is not pleasant. The people have been blighted by raids from overseas marauders, plagues, disease, poverty, war etc. Then, they will have suffered more personal events, high infant mortality, crime, addictions, abuses. Even as recently as the 1950s, dockers would turn up to work and fist fight to decide who got the limited number of jobs, this would be daily, before any work was done... Stuff that... For me, it's no wonder that London is one of the most haunted cities in the world. There are layers upon layers of paranormal tales, and likely hundreds more that have been lost to time. Of course, many of these would likely fall into categories of explainable phenomena, such as pareidolia, but surely not all.

Having said this, it's almost impossible to hold public paranormal events in London. Most of the venues who are open to the idea price themselves very very highly. Other places of significant interest are significantly uninterested. Then there are the bars, restaurants, hotels, it really isn't worth their while turning down their regular custom for a bunch of people to mooch around in the dark. Even events held outside would be disrupted by noise, light pollution, members of the public. For an area with such rich tales, it's very frustrating to not be able to get close to them.

History doesn't always equate a haunting. A tiny rock/heavy metal bar in Soho caught my interest. The Crobar lies between Tottenham Court Road and Leicester Square, dating from the 1690s the side street was home to the anarchist movement of the 1800s, so there is plenty of history. On occasion, I pop in for a beer or two, the place has a certain ambience and is filled with interesting characters. I explained to the staff what my interests are and asked what paranormal activity might lie therein, I eagerly awaited their response, expecting tales to wow me.. "None," they said. "We wish it was haunted!" If anyone reading this passes away any time soon, pop in to see them, you will be warmly received!

​Speaking of Lantern Ghost Tours, I'm soon to be running their Paranormal Ghost Tour. I really do miss working with them, I love the vibe of paranormal London. Circumstances dictate that I'm working further away from London most of the time, otherwise I would still be treading the streets with my kit in tow, up the Old Smoke. Hopefully, next year Wycombe Paranormal will collaborate with Lantern on some projects, watch this space!

​So, as this year draws to a close, my paranormal work does not. There are plenty of ongoing private investigations and a new writing project to ensure I don't get too comfy watching Fiddler on the Roof or whatever other crud the networks see fit to blast at us. Anyway, I've now got Topol singing stuck in my head.. You should too.. No, really, you should!

As I've stated before, I don't investigate the paranormal to prove to the deniers that there are such things. Those who don't want to believe, never will. I investigate to decipher if a series of incidents are of a paranormal nature. If they aren't, I advise the client on the relevant professionals to assist. If they are of a paranormal nature, then a whole other series of questions are asked. Usually at this point mediums run into a place waving their sage sticks around like they are Bruce Lee using nunchakus. If it was that easy, everyone would be doing it.. Oh wait, they are.. Doing it correctly I mean ;)

One of the considerations one has to take into account is if someone is dicking around. This consideration entered my head recently on a private case in a commercial premises. While being shown around I was informed that etchings had appeared on walls and surfaces within the building. One I was shown was "666", now I personally do not believe in a singular character called The Devil. My belief is that he was created by the Roman Empire as a way of controlling the masses, a political tool to ensure the people coughed up their money on a Sunday. The next etching was described to me as the devil worship star, I understood this to be a reverse pentagram (5 pointed star, pointing downwards) What I was met with was a 6 pointed star, better known as the Star of David, used in Judaism since 1897. Was this a horrendous graffiti error, or something more sinister?

A fact that I kept from the team at the time is that this symbol has a long history, predating it's use in Judaism. Also known as the Seal of Solomon in other religions, it has an application in Occultism. This symbol has been used to summon spirits and demons. So, someone is dicking around, no doubt. But are they dicking around and got the wrong symbol? Or, are they dicking with something they really shouldn't be and knew what symbol they were using. Afterall, the staff of the establishment (and their neighbours) had concerns of a paranormal nature. No evidence was captured at the time, I will be going back though. Obviously, confidentiality prevents me from disclosing any more.

Halloween approaches! I have always loved Halloween, from it's origins as Samhain to it's modern excuse for frivolity. Over the past few years Halloween has become a busy business day for me. I always have something going on now the commercial side of Wycombe Paranormal has grown, but even before this I was busy. I would often do horror makeup and effects at parties, skills I had learned during various acting roles in the horror genre from my good friend Nic Thompson. I want to take you back a little further though. I was working for one of those psychic channels on TV. Not my fondest employment, but anyway. I was doing telephone readings from where I lived at the time, a few days before Halloween, the 26th/27th I believe. I had constructed a little office in the corner of a room where a protruding chimney breast left a little recess. I always had a candle burning on a surface away from my desk. I was part way through doing reading for a woman when I heard a loud crash, a mirror that had been hanging on the chimney breast wall was now in the middle of the room on the floor, about 2 metres away from the wall. It had not simply fallen down, but out into the room. The woman I was reading for heard the commotion and asked what it was, I brushed her off by saying a bookshelf collapsed. I brought an end to the reading and noticed the candle, the flame was about 15cm in height. This was a normal table candle from a supermarket. Of course, as a medium, I was "open" as I had been doing readings. I became aware of a presence, a huge presence, like nothing I had ever felt. It was definitely not a human spirit. The main feeling I had was that I was insignificant in it's presence. This lasted only a couple of minutes before it moved on, at least that's how it felt. Explaining clairsentient feelings as a medium is tough to prove, luckily I'm not trying to prove it, just passing on an experience. To this day I will swear that something unpleasant came through to prove it's might and arrogantly moved on. Halloween is known as the time that the "veil" is at it's thinnest and spirits can cross over. If this is true, then logically is doesn't just thing for one day, rather there would be a thinning process in the lead up before thickening again moving away. Whatever it was, out of all of my personal experiences, this one unnerved me, and I've dealt with plenty of unpleasant stuff, both in the paranormal field and day to day life.

As I noted some time ago on my Wycombe Paranormal facebook page I observe full confidentiality on private cases I investigate. In these cases I'm not looking to prove the existence of the supernatural to the skeptic community, I'm going in with the intention of resolving an issue, or series of issues experienced by a client. Oftentimes these issues will be born of mental ill health and a great deal of sensitivity, support and understanding needs to be shown. I am fortunate that I spent several years working in the NHS and Social Services and kind of perfected my "bed side" manner. Of course, ill health does not mean an individual is not also experiencing problems of a paranormal nature. However, health and wellbeing has to be absolutely paramount. I have signposted several clients to health care professionals. Sadly the same can not be said of others in the field. I could list a whole plethora of concerns. but will reference just one. A woman sought help in a facebook paranormal group, her daughter had been experiencing nightmares, severe headaches and vomiting. The "experts" in the group reported the cause to be everything from the spirit of an angry old man to voodoo. Nobody mentioned the one word I eventually did.... DOCTOR!!! Of course, the mother should be rightly lambasted for not making it her priority, but the absolute fucking cheek of these self absorbed dickheads. A child's health was clearly of concern and they came out with this utter bullshit. How do I know it's bullshit? Because the mother thankfully took my advice and treatment was commenced. I can only imagine (in horror) how many of the pseudo mediums and fake investigators cause damage all over the hundreds, maybe thousands of social media groups. I know of another case where a "medium" trawls groups set up for mothers who miscarried a child, I will leave her motives to your imagination, but a little tip, she ain't doing it for love £$

Anyway, back to the whole point this blog, confidentiality. I would love to be able to recount some of the details and evidence captured on these private investigations, I have set morals and high standards for a reason though.

Luckily, some of these private clients have agreed to let me share some stuff!! In the video below you will see a strange flashing light on the right of the screen (repeated through a few filters) At the time of recording I noticed nothing remarkable. The only thing of note during the investigation was very high EMF levels throughout the house, undoubtedly due to poor shielding of the electrics. This clip is shot in the IR spectrum.

So, I have put off blogging about the paranormal for quite some time now. A steady slew of misinformation online has prompted me to actually sit at the laptop tapping away at these little keys until I feel my point has been made. Naturally, you have the right to ignore this, but in all aspects of my professional career I aim to eradicate the bullshit that unscrupulous merchants profit from. So, my first blog is going to come across a bit shouty.

I have never liked the term "Ghost Hunt" I mean really, what exactly is it you propose to do when you have managed to hunt the elusive ghost? Yeah, pretty much what I expected. Unfortunately the term is so in diction I have had no choice but to use it in the company description, it is after all, what the public will Google. Another thing I don't like "Do you dare spend the night with us??" Yes, I do dare actually, but I won't because I'm not paying money to people who are clearly disguising a paranormal investigation as a scare event. There are many great scare events in the UK, none of them portray themselves as paranormal.

The last thing you want during a paranormal investigation is fear. You are there to gather evidence, witness, observe. By loading an event with fear you have immediately psychologically biased any perceptions. Some paranormal TV shows have made a lot of money by promoting the paranormal as something to fear. Sure, fear of the unknown is natural, but a good paranormal team should be educating those in attendance. Of course, this is if they in fact know what they are talking about.

Another grey area for me is the use of mediums during investigations. I myself am a psychic medium and have been all of my life, but lets call it 25 years that I have been "proactive" as a medium. When looking to capture evidence of the paranormal, a medium is actually surplus to requirements if you think about it. I'm talking about actual investigation, rather than an event open to the public. It's not much use someone bringing through "Old Dick" when you have no other evidence to review and measure, particularly if there are no accounts of dearest Dicky anywhere near the location. I have certainly been to locations and picked up on certain beings, it's very interesting, but can not be used as evidence. If the information is in the public domain, you can be accused of researching it, if it's not in the public domain you have nothing to back you up. It's a lose/lose situation. This is one of the reasons TAPS (Ghost Hunters TV show) don't use mediums.

As I'm sitting here now, an episode of Most Haunted is on the TV. I could list several things that I do not identify with about this show, but the main one, and one they just showed, is orbs. The internet is full of pictures of dust, I mean, orbs. Now, I have seen, in real time, evidence of orbs responding to command, in effect, communicating. However, when presented with still photos of orbs you have to be ruthless if you wish to be credible. If it could be dust, moisture, insects then you have to discard it as such. I have probably seen only 2 or 3 still photographs that I believed to be of a paranormal nature. This leaves several hundreds, maybe even into the thousands I've seen that were clearly of a natural explanation.

Pareidolia accounts for a lot of misrepresentation within paranormal reports. Much as our ancestors saw shapes among the stars and called them constellations, our own mind find familiar patterns among random images. The most famous probably being seeing a puppy or cuddly toy in the clouds. From the moment we can see, we are processing our world through site, the site of our parents, other relatives, friends, teachers etc etc. Our brain is engineered to look for the familiar in details. Quite common is finding a face within an orb. No offence people, but that is where I switch off, for the reasons stated above.

Humans themselves are flawed also. By this I mean, they cheat and lie! Recent years have seen a resurgence in "Physical Mediumship" The theory is that you can command a willing spirit to manipulate the physical environment. It will move objects, touch people, say things from the other side of the room. This all happens within the setting of a seance. The room will be in darkness, those in attendance will often be tied together (except for the medium of course) I'm afraid to say that this attracts a lot of charlatans. Some would argue that all mediums are such. I personally see no value in physical mediumship. Only my opinion. As a medium my job is to prove to an individual or family that the consciousness of a loved one has survived what we perceive to be the death of the physical. I do not see any value in asking spirit to perform like circus monkeys. Again, only my opinion, it is not an area that interests me at all. Unless I see fakes. And boy have I seen fakes. On another blog I will reference some of these fakes more specifically and directly. I have no time or respect for fakes or trickery.

Anyway, now that I have got the "What Grinds My Gears" blog done, we can start to move forward, because there is so much to move forward with. Even taking into account all the bullshit busting, there is still some fascinating subject matter out there... Do you dare join me? Lolllll, see ya...